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24 years later, Canal Point footbridge green-lighted

The problem of a little footbridge in western Palm Beach County might finally be solved. And it took only 24 years.

In the image below, the edge of Lake Okeechobee is at the upper left. To the east of that is a water control structure, a railroad bridge, and U.S. 98.

People who fish from the U.S. 98 bridge, and kids walking home from school, have to negotiate traffic. The county would like to put a footbridge across the canal, around the location of the structure at the lower right, which sits across from Everglades Street.

A meeting was held in 1992, at which a site plan was drawn. A “community visioning workshop” was held in 2007, where residents suggested the county “determine the feasibility of building a catwalk. And a workshop was held in 2012, at which residents “registered support” for the bridge.

Now, three years after that, Palm Beach County Commissioners voted at their Jan. 26 meeting to approve a $684,751 grant from the state Department of Transportation to help pay for the bridge, estimated to cost $801,971. That lets the county solicit and award a construction contract.

County Administrator Verdenia Baker told commissioners many residents still oppose the bridge but that “it’s a safety issue we must address.”

Commissioner Melissa McKinlay — Canal Point is in her district — suggested to Houston Tate, the head of the county’s Office of Community Revitalization, that the two of them meet with opponents.

Pointing out the gestation period of a smple footbridge, she quipped, “far be it for me to stand in the way of government moving expeditiously.”